


Something Wicked This Way Comes

by CartoonJessie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Adventure, Angst, Crossover, Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-03-11 14:31:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 22
Words: 16,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3329684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonJessie/pseuds/CartoonJessie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Rumbelle Hogwarts AU - After a lifetime of being bullied, Rumplestiltskin finally makes a friend when he meets Belle French. Though he is completely smitten with her, he has his doubts that she will ever return any romantic feelings for him. After all, he is the crippled Ravenclaw that has been bullied since he first came to Hogwarts. Can his new friend change any of that?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting on the Train

**Author's Note:**

> Originally, this was a prompt series which I also posted on Tumblr. Since I was running out of prompts, I've decided to rewrite it and just continue the story on my own. I have plenty of inspiration for it.   
> Hope you enjoy it!

The first of September was a day that Rumplestiltskin dreaded more than any other in the year. While his classmates were always excited - some to the point of hyperventilation - he always dreaded the day.  
This year - his sixth - it was because he was receiving his very first punches of the year before the Hogwarts Express had even left King's Cross.  
Hordor certainly wasn’t holding back. He was making up for two months of summer without a punching bag nearby.   
Rumplestiltskin could hardly see - his eyes were already swelling and he tasted blood in his mouth - but he could suddenly hear a female voice behind him, shouting a single word which apparently startled his bully.   
"Stop!"  
Hordor quickly threw a last punch at Rumplestiltskin, causing him to fall back - into the girl’s open arms. As she wasn’t strong enough to hold his weight, they both tumbled to the floor of the luggage compartment, Rumplestiltskin panting and crying softly while Hordor and his crones left as quickly as they had come.   
"Hey… Hush… hush, sweetie…"  
Her voice was so gentle and caring, and he could hear her mumble some healing spells, causing his vision to sharpen as she healed his bruised eye.   
She sounded foreign - as though she came from the other side of the world. And as she came into focus, his heart only started to beat harder and faster, finding her the most exquisite creature he had ever seen. He forced himself to stop crying - it wasn’t right to cry in front of a woman.  
"Who are you?" he asked softly, not recalling seeing her sky-blue eyes, dark curls and heart-shaped face ever before. Surely he would have known if she had gone to Hogwarts as long as he had? But she didn’t even wear a Hogwarts tie, just a plain white shirt, and he was unashamed as he leaned against her torso, the feeling of her arms around him one he never wanted to miss.   
"Belle," she replied gently, smiling at him. "I’m new."  
"Australian?" he wondered softly, still exhausted from receiving such a beating.   
"Born and raised," she answered with a small grin, hesitating as she tried to place his accent as well. "You… Scottish?"  
"Aye. Rumplestiltskin."  
"You have some blood on your teeth," she remarked, a worried frown appearing on her otherwise so gentle face, and he wanted nothing more than to make her smile again. "I have a bottle of water with me somewhere. Let me go and get it…"  
Rumplestiltskin was left alone, missing her warmth the moment she was gone, and as he sat up, he looked around for his cane. He was just glad they hadn’t thrown it out of the window, as they had threatened to do before, and crawled over to it before he picked it up and slowly got up.   
As Belle entered again, she shot him a shy smile, causing butterflies to well up in his stomach, and as she offered him the bottle, he realized how she was smaller than him. Yet judging on the healing spells she had used, she had to be older than fifteen - hopefully his age?   
"What year are you starting at Hogwarts?" he asked eagerly, somehow forgetting all about Hordor in these wonderful moments that he was allowed to look at the beautiful girl in front of him.   
"Sixth," she replied shyly. "I was home-schooled in Australia, but I took my O.W.L.s during the summer, and they said I was up for it." It was a slight understatement - she had passed each and every O.W.L. with Outstanding marks.  
Rumplestiltskin just looked at her with a love-struck smile on his face. He was also entering his sixth year, and the prospect of spending a year at Hogwarts suddenly wasn’t as horrible as before.  
"Shall we look for a compartment to sit?" she asked kindly, apparently not afraid to spend more time with him, and for that Rumplestiltskin was grateful. "Unless you wanna stay among the luggage?"  
He shook his head, and followed her like a lost puppy that had finally found a new master, limping after her with a stupid smile on his face, glad that it seemed like he would finally make a friend.


	2. The Sorting Nightmare

_Rumplestiltskin sat by himself at the large Ravenclaw table, ignoring Hordor and his crones as they tried to elicit a response from him, calling him “Hobblefoot” and the likes, sitting not too far behind him at the table of Slytherin._   
_But his heart and mind were made up: he would not break this time, for he had found a new strength: Belle. And he had never felt better in his whole life._   
_As she sat on the small stool, waiting for the Sorting Hat to make up his mind about her, the eyes of the entire school on her, Rumplestiltskin prayed with all his heart that she would come to Ravenclaw, like him. He wanted it so badly that his jaw was starting to ache from clenching his teeth so tightly._   
_When the Sorting Hat finally shouted “Slytherin!”, it was like his world shattered. Hordor howled with laughter, and Belle -surprisingly - laughed as well, running into his bully's open arms, and Hordor lifted her onto his shoulder, welcoming her to the one house Rumplestiltskin couldn’t bare to lose her to._

He awoke with a gasp, sweat on his face and his hands trembling in shock.   
Unable to stay in bed and linger on the feeling of despair and loneliness he had felt during his nightmare, he reached for his cane at the foot of the bed and got out, quietly limping out of the boy's bedroom, down the spiral staircase and into the Ravenclaw common room, trying to set his mind to something else - anything else but the thought of losing his Belle to Hordor.  
"Hey," a sweet voice greeted him, and he stood frozen to the spot, seeing how Belle was sitting on a sofa, wearing nothing but a white nightgown as she looked up from her book, once more with that mysterious smile on her face, like she seemed to know that he would be alright - despite all the struggles life had thrown at him. "I’m sorry if I startled you. I’ve been having some trouble sleeping." She put a stray lock of hair behind her ear, smiling apologetically as she explained: "Some sort of jetlag - from the difference in time zones or something - I’m sure I’ll sleep normally next week." Noticing how he was rooted to the spot, she tilted her head, suddenly asking: "You okay?"  
A smile came to his lips and he moved closer to sit besides her, not minding that she could see him in his old, patched-up nightshirt. He knew that she had already realized in the train that he wasn’t rich, but it also seemed like she couldn’t care less. How could it be that he loved someone so much while he hadn’t even known her for more than twenty-four hours?  
"Yeah," he replied softly, mindful not to wake anyone and he shot her a warm, assuring smile. "I am now."


	3. Bullied Again

Rumplestiltskin couldn’t be happier about having Belle as a friend. She sat close to him at breakfast, they walked to all the classes together and they helped each other with their homework. She was funny, sweet and caring and the most beautiful girl he had ever known. To have her as a friend was more than Rumplestiltskin could have asked for, and ever since the incident on the Hogwarts Express, his bullies had left him alone.   
However, on the fourth of September, they were back to their old habits. As he came out of the boy’s bathroom, they were waiting for him: Hordor and his friends from Slytherin. They were massively built compared to Rumplestiltskin, and as he pulled his wand from the cane which he needed for walking, they had already disarmed him. Not by using ‘Expelliarmus’, but by kicking the thing from his hand, before they pushed him to the ground.   
For a bunch of teenage wizards, they were very fond of physical violence.   
"Thought you could escape us forever?" Hordor teased. "We’ve been noticing your little girlfriend… Do you feel clever now, hiding behind a girl?"  
"And do you feel powerful, pushing an unarmed cripple to the ground?" Rumplestiltskin spat in return, but he immediately wished he had kept his mouth shut.   
As they all started kicking him in the stomach and in his back, he tried not to cry too loud, knowing that would only encourage them, and after minutes of laying there, feeling completely defenseless, he suddenly froze when he heard Belle’s voice.   
"Oy, bullies!"  
She sounded angry - very angry - and the next moment, she muttered a spell and they were hanging upside down in the air, their robes covering their sight as she ran closer to Rumplestiltskin, keeping a firm grip on her wand. “Expelliarmus!” she shouted, to which all their wands flew to the ground, far from their reach.   
They started shouting at her, upset that they were unable to get out of this position themselves, threatening to hurt her and kill her, but she replied harshly: “I’m from Australia, mates... Where I’m from, everything is trying to kill me. Don’t think you’re special. You’re just children.”  
It was a very insulting thing to say to a bunch of last-year Slytherins, but she had said it anyway. Helping Rumplestiltskin up from the ground, she supported him, ignoring the insults of the bullies.   
As Rumplestiltskin leaned on her and limped through the corridor, trying not to betray his pain, she whispered: “Let’s get you patched up, alright, sweetie?”  
He just sniffed, tears streaming down his face as he wished Belle had not seen this - not again. But at the same time, he nodded in reply to her words, wishing for nothing more than her comfort and care and hoping that she had not just become the new target of Hordor.


	4. The Protector

Belle supported him  on their way through the corridors, hearing his ragged breathing and noticing the winces in his expression whenever the hurt became too much. She opened the door to the Transfiguration classroom as soon as they passed it, glad to find it unlocked.  
"Sit down," she told him. "I’m patching you up right now. You’re in too much pain to continue."  
He sat down obediently, not protesting against her decision, not even asking to be taken to Madame Pomfrey’s. He held his eyes closed, trying to ban the pain from his mind, but Belle could see he was failing.   
As she started unbuttoning his shirt, his eyes flew open all of a sudden, looking at her with nothing but terror on his face. She could tell he was afraid of her opinion of him, and so she kept her gentle smile on her face, hoping it gave him courage.  
As she revealed his torso, she noticed the bruises and marks - some areas of his skin more blue than tan, and she gulped away a lump in her throat.  
"How often do they do this?" Belle asked carefully, and when Rumplestiltskin only shrugged, wincing as he did so and avoiding her gaze, she put her hand on his cheek and directed his gaze towards her.   
"Rumplestiltskin," she said softly, keeping her eyes locked on his. "Talk to me about this. I want to understand how they are getting away with this. Have no teachers ever noticed their bullying? And that lady from the hospital wing, Pomfrey? Why don’t they know?"  
Rumplestiltskin gulped, but he was soon to speak, figuring that Belle needed to know. “Hordor and his friends are dangerous… Their families… they’re dark wizards - murderers - but they got away with it during the war, claiming they were under the Imperiatus curse afterwards.”  
Belle frowned. “And you think that if you speak up, they will come after you?”  
He nodded quickly, wincing as that hurt him, and he added: “They told me they would.”  
Understanding his fear a little better, she took her wand and started healing the bruises she spotted, noticing how his gaze slowly relaxed. As his stomach returned to a normal color, Belle had to admit that his skinny appearance wasn’t putting her off - far from, actually. As she stopped her healing, she rested her hand on his chest, finding it warm and soft and quickly pulling it away again before he found her too odd for friendship.   
"Well we can’t just let them beat you into the hospital wing next time. We gotta fight back," she said decisively, buttoning up his shirt again.   
He merely stared at her, a small smile on his face, even if he disagreed with her. He was admiring her courage. “Please, Belle, don’t get involved in this. Just… just patch me up from now on, but don’t fight them. I don’t want them to come after you too.”  
Belle frowned, disagreeing. “Let them come after me. I’ll show them who’s boss. I'll protect you.”  
"Don’t speak like that," he urged her, his smile disappearing as he looked at her with nothing but worry now. "You are outnumbered and way smaller than them! You can’t take a hit from them!"  
"Well the trick is not to get hit then," Belle said stubbornly. "They seem to prefer physical violence - well I prefer my spells. As long as I can hold my wand, I’m safe."  
Belle took his cane from his hands, pulling out Rumplestiltskin’s wand from it and inspecting it. “Together, we’ll be able to put up more of a fight. Just practice drawing your wand as quickly as you can. I don’t want them to surprise you again.”  
"I-I’m not very good at dueling," Rumplestiltskin stuttered shyly.   
"Then I’ll teach you," she said with a warm smile, putting back his wand and giving him back his cane. "Come, let’s see if you’re able to get to the Ravenclaw common room now. We gotta get to work on our potions essay."  
She saw Rumplestiltskin’s shy expression as he followed her to the door, and she had to admit that she had never felt so moved by any other boy in her life before. How horrible that they were picking on him. Belle would do anything in her power to keep him safe from now on.


	5. The Practice Duel

Belle’s heart was beating fast - but not from the exhilaration of having the fight of her life, but because she realized that if these were Rumplestiltskin’s dueling skills, he’d never be able to disarm anyone, and he’d be an easy target for these bullies for the rest of his life.   
It took him too long to pull his wand out of his cane, his hand trembled whenever he raised his wand at her, and his voice was too soft - stuttering at times when he did try to disarm her. Even with her eyes closed, she would have been able to protect herself from his attacks.  
When he finally did try to disarm her, Belle was glad that he had at least fired a spell this time.  
"I’m so sorry!" he apologized, seeing the scorch mark on the bookcase behind her. "I almost hit you!"  
Belle suddenly frowned, realizing something.  
"Rumple, are you going easy on me? Because… because I’m a girl?"  
Rumplestiltskin’s cheeks turned as red as the outfits of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and he averted his eyes, looking for the right words.  
"No!" he said softly. "I mean… perhaps… perhaps yes, but… but mostly because… because you’re my friend. I don’t want to hurt you!"   
He was so shy right now that Belle could not help but blush as well. He was so sweet and it only made her care more about him. But it definitely explained why he had been so soft on her. Perhaps he would have made more of an effort if his opponent had been an actual bully.    
"Alright. We’ll try another spell then. Levicorpus - do you know that one?"  
He nodded quickly.  
"Good," Belle continued. "It won't hurt me," she assured him. "So just try and use it on me before I use any spell on you, alright? I’m going to try and disarm you with Expelliarmus, and you’re going to take that exact moment to cast your spell. Ready?"  
He nodded again, and Belle smiled, happy to be practicing dueling with him.   
The moment she tried to disarm him, he noticed and sent her flying, causing her to laugh as she suddenly hung upside down in the air, feeling for the very first time what it was like to have someone use that spell on her. Blood was running to her head, and she was struggling with her robes, but she kept on laughing, saying: “Well done! I’m so proud of you, Rumple! That was super-fast! Will you help me down?”  
But Rumplestiltskin stood rooted to the spot, hardly picking up on her words as he was too mesmerized by the sight of her bare legs and panties before him, biting his lip as he tried to remember how to breathe.


	6. Rumple's Talent

Out of all subjects at Hogwarts, Belle had the most difficulty with potions - and not so much with the theoretical side of it... She really knew all about the ingredients and instructions they needed to follow - it was just that she had only ever learned about it in theory. At Hogwarts, it was the first time that she actually stood behind a cauldron - the first time she was chopping up ingredients and pouring other liquids into the brews.   
Rumplestiltskin didn’t take long to notice how slow Belle was. She was a great perfectionist when it came to chopping up ingredients to the proper size, but it took ages, and he could tell that she hadn’t often held a knife in her delicate hands.   
Putting his hand on hers, he stopped her from continuing, knowing they’d run out of time if he let her continue this way, and she looked up, her bright eyes curious and as sweet as always, wondering why he had stopped her.   
Winking at her, Rumplestiltskin gently motioned to her to step aside, and as he began chopping up the leaves, Belle looked at him with wide eyes, surprised by the speed with which he knew how to do this.   
A few minutes later, all their ingredients were ready and they began mixing them together, Belle keeping her nose in the book to see if they were following all instructions properly.   
Seeing how Rumplestiltskin was stirring the potion, she felt relieved, but when she suddenly saw him stir in the opposite direction for a second, she gasped.   
Her gaze quickly scanned the room, looking for professor Jafar, just to check if he had seen it. She did not want to risk losing any points. Luckily, professor Jafar was keeping a close eye on Jefferson - who had a tendency to make the worst out of his potions lessons - and Belle turned to Rumplestiltskin again.   
"Rumple!" she whispered, afraid he was going to ruin the potion, but he winked at her.  
"Trust me, Belle…"  
Belle gulped, staring into the potion, and she was surprised to suddenly see that the potion was turning purple - the exact color it needed to have for bottling.   
"How…" she began, looking into her book for an explanation, but he beat her to it.  
"Don’t believe these books…" he said quietly. "There are some books on these potions in the restricted section - offering better recipes for them. Mind you, there is a danger in doing it this way. If these go wrong, it’s worse than if you follow the schoolbooks… But I just make sure they don’t go wrong."   
He winked at her again and Belle felt her a nervous flutter in her stomach and blushed as she looked into her book again.  
She hadn’t been this impressed with him since she had gotten to know him, but now she saw him in a new light, respecting him for his obvious talent when it came to potion making.


	7. The Hogsmeade Visit

"You know, it’s my first time in Hogsmeade!" Belle said eagerly as she walked besides Rumplestiltskin, not going too fast so he could keep up as he walked besides her, heavily leaning on his cane with each step.   
He chuckled warmly. “I can tell. You’ve told me that three times already. Excited?”  
She nodded quickly, looking at his pained expression while he walked. “Are you alright? You seem troubled by your leg.”  
"It’s a long distance to walk," he agreed. "But we can rest for a few minutes once we’re there."  
They followed the stream of students, many of them passing them by as they were all quicker than them, and once they entered the town, Belle could not wipe her smile off her face. “This is so amazing,” she repeated a dozen times, until they were finally sitting on a bench in the middle of town, watching other students as they passed by.   
"Say, would you like to show me the Shrieking Shack? I’ve heard so much about it!"  
Rumplestiltskin seemed nervous all of a sudden. “It is quite a bit away from here… I eh… I don’t think it’s a good idea. It’s very isolated. There are no teachers there.” He nervously looked around him, and when Belle saw him cast his eyes down, she also noticed that Hordor and the other bullies were nearby, some of them returning her gaze.   
Understanding that he was afraid they’d become an easy target in a very bad place to be, Belle put her hand on his.  
"I understand," she said softly, moving her fingers over his, and he looked up with a grateful smile. "Let’s not take any risks. Besides. Next year, they’ll no longer be at Hogwarts. We’ll have peace then. And we can go and see the Shrieking Shack then."  
Rumplestiltskin was beaming with joy as he listened to those words, and he said: “It’s a deal! Now… Come, there’s tons of things I want to show you here… Follow me!”  
  
Belle stayed by his side the entire afternoon, and they entered many shops, often leaving them without buying anything, though Belle bought some socks for her father at Gladrags Wizardwear and a book for her old housekeeper Mrs. Potts at Tomes and Scrolls. Zonko’s Joke Shop entertained them for nearly an hour, but it was at Honeydukes that Belle came to the realization that Rumplestiltskin wasn’t buying anything at all.   
"Don’t you have any money with you?"  
Rumplestiltskin shrugged. “I don’t have money,” he admitted. “Besides, if I’d take money with me, they’d probably steal it from me before I’d be able to spend it. Or they’d steal whatever I’d spend it on.”  
Feeling sorry for him, but realizing it would be awkward to give him some money, Belle bought a big bag full of sweets and she said casually as they left the shop: “We should share it. This is more candy than I can ever eat. You can have half of it.”  
As they made their way back to a bench, a girl suddenly ran buy, pushing Belle to the ground by accident, and before she knew it half her sweets were on the dirt while Rumplestiltskin watched in horror, quickly heading to Belle’s side to help her up.  
"Sorry!" the girl cried, and Belle noticed her long brown hair and terrified expression as she ran for her life.  
Rumplestiltskin could not stop asking Belle if she was alright, afraid she had hurt herself, but Belle shook her head, assuring him she had merely been startled.  
With a frown on her face, Belle suddenly saw Hordor and his mates appear and they didn’t even notice Belle and Rumplestiltskin as they ran after the girl.   
"Another victim of them?" she wondered quietly. "Who was she?"  
"A fifth year from Gryffindor. Red. Doesn’t have any friends left, not after Snow White graduated last year."  
"No wonder they were friends - _with their color-inspired names_ ," Belle remarked dryly, and Rumplestiltskin giggled as well.  
"But why do they target her?" Belle wondered suddenly.  
"As I said," Rumplestiltskin said with a shrug. " _She doesn’t have any friends left._ They like their victims isolated and friendless.”  
Belle was tying a knot in the bag of sweets which was now half-empty, determined not to lose the rest of them in the same way.   
Noticing how much of the candy was on the ground, Rumplestiltskin sighed, sad to see so much of it wasted, and even sadder to see some of the interesting looking ones in the dirt. He had always wanted to try those.  
"If they like their victims isolated," Belle continued with narrowed eyes. "Then we have to make sure she isn’t alone. Come on, Rumpel. Time to show those bullies how much we’ve been practicing."


	8. Putting up a Fight

Belle was running, trying to find the bullies before they could hurt the young Gryffindor. Rumplestiltskin was going as fast as he could, limping behind her. They left the town of Hogsmeade and headed towards the Shrieking Shack, stopping for a second as they heard a girl scream in the distance.  
Belle turned to see if Rumplestiltskin was keeping up, and as he approached her, she noticed the fear in his eyes.   
"Just remember our lessons," she reminded him sternly. "It doesn’t matter if you’re not quick on your feet, all that matters is how quick you pull your wand and how clear you say your spells. Make every spell count. Together we can do this."  
He nodded bravely, already pulling out his wand, and together they headed closer, staying near one another as the Shrieking Shack and the fence around it came into view. They also saw Red, standing in the middle of the group of Slytherins, crying as they pulled her hair and said mean things to her.   
Keeping her voice down, Belle counted: “One… two… three… go!”  
Both of them used the Levicorpus spell at the same time, sending the bullies flying into the sky once more, and Red looked up in alarm, surprised she was still standing. Not losing one second, she dove for her own wand, which had been dropped a few feet away, and rushed to the side of Belle and Rumplestiltskin, being taller than them, even if she was younger.   
"Don’t think you’ll get away with this!" Hordor cried, focusing Belle. "We’ll get you for this… We’ll get you at Hogwarts first, and then we’ll get your family at home! You’ll regret that you…"  
"Silencio!" Belle cried. She had grown sick of his threats, and she understood now why Rumpelstiltskin found it frightening to hear Hordor speak in that way. He certainly wasn’t joking and Belle wondered just how much power he had.   
"You alright?" Belle asked Red, and she nodded quickly, to which Belle said: "Alright, let’s go then."  
As they turned around and headed off, Hordor managed to break out of the Levicorpus spell, falling with a thud on the ground, and only a second later he had his wand in hand, ready to give them all a fight.   
It wasn’t Belle who had noticed the resilience of Hordor, but Rumplestiltskin, who cast Expelliarmus so fast that Hordor’s wand flew to the other side of the fence around the Shrieking Shack. Unable to talk just yet, Hordor just growled, looking for his wand while his friends were still upside down, furiously swinging their arms around them.   
Belle, Rumple and Red ran as fast as they could, Rumplestiltskin a little behind them, though Belle always made sure he was keeping up, and they headed straight back towards Hogwarts, laughing and gasping for air as they came to a halt inside the castle grounds.   
"Thank you so much," Red said. "Really, I thought I was done there, for a moment…"  
"No problem," Belle said with a happy smile.   
"We’re glad to be able to help," Rumplestiltskin added with a warm smile.  
Understanding that Rumplestiltskin had been a victim of Hordor’s bullying for longer than her, Red shot him a sympathetic smile.   
"It really means a lot to me," she continued. "I owe you. Both of you."


	9. Stirrings

The Ravenclaw common room was always rather quiet around midnight and today was no exception.   
Belle and Rumplestiltskin sat on the sofa in front of the fire, each of them with a book in their lap, their attention completely on the words in front of them. As Belle suddenly yawned and stretched herself like a cat, Rumplestiltskin glanced sideways, a small smile on his lips.   
"You know, you should go to bed if you’re sleepy," he said softly, looking around to realize that their fellow Ravenclaws had already gone to their rooms. They were all alone, and he wondered why that made him so nervous. He spent plenty of time alone with Belle these days.   
"I wanna finish this chapter," Belle whined softly. "I just need a bit of sugar to keep me going. Where did I leave those sweets I bought in Hogsmeade?"  
She crawled to the edge of the sofa, leaning down to reach for her bag, which had been kicked a little further away by another student that had had his head in a book.   
As Belle reached out, Rumplestiltskin could not help but look at the view to his side - at her short skirt and the bit of flesh she revealed underneath.  Was it the fire that was making it so hot all of a sudden?  
By the time Belle sat down again, Rumplestiltskin’s cheeks were flushing, and she licked her lips as she looked inside the bag.   
"I don’t know what to choose," she sighed. "So many mouth-watering sweets…"  
As an idea came to him - one of those bold ones he’d never have early in the morning, but only late in the evening, when the line between reality and dream became blurred to even him - he smiled and gently took the bag from her hands, whispering: “Close your eyes then…”  
Belle always obeyed him - she always trusted him, and she did as she was told, keeping her eyes closed.   
"Open your mouth," he whispered then, taking a strawberry flavored sweet from the bag, and Belle once more did what he asked of her, smelling the candy first before she felt it on her tongue, and as she closed her lips, she brushed his fingers, causing Rumplestiltskin’s breath to hitch for a moment.  
She moaned softly at the taste of strawberry, and opened her eyes, unable to stop smiling.   
"My turn," she said as she finished the little sweet, and as she moved closer to Rumplestiltskin, he closed his eyes, letting her take the lead.   
As she put a green apple-flavored sweet on his tongue, his lips were quick to brush her fingers, and Belle felt her heart skip a beat because of it. She looked at him as he kept his eyes closed, and gulped away a heavy lump in her throat. She felt awake again - so awake that she feared she would not be able to sleep tonight.  
Her feelings for him would keep her up again.  
Just what was it precisely that she felt for Rumplestiltskin?


	10. Jealousy

Rumple got used to having Belle by his side - to having her as his partner during all lessons where the professor would tell everybody to ‘team up!’  
Belle would always choose him, and that made him prouder than ever.   
So when professor Jafar suddenly announced that he had teamed everyone up in advance, Rumple’s heart sank into his chest.   
He was to be teamed up with Victor Frankenstein - who was really an excellent partner to have, dedicated and precise and not much of a talker, probably the only one in class who came close to Rumple’s level in potions.  
Belle, on the other hand, was worse off. She already wasn’t very good in the practical side of potion-making, and now she was to join Jefferson Hatter. He was a rather mad type of Ravenclawer, not to mention that he had a reputation for blowing up cauldrons - and no one was ever sure whether he did that on purpose or by accident.   
But worse than the worry was the jealousy when he saw Belle walk over to his classmate’s cauldron, smiling beautifully at him, and Jefferson smiling warmly in return, even giving her a little bow and taking her hand in his to introduce himself more formally. Noticing how Jefferson’s thumb gently rubbed over her soft fingers, stirred a feeling of jealousy in him he had never experienced before.   
Angrily, he tore his gaze away and started chopping up the ingredients, a nasty frown on his face. Every now and then he would hear soft giggles from Belle’s table, and whenever he turned and saw them smiling at one another, leaning closer into one another to look at the potions book they were sharing, he felt like a failure.   
To him it seemed obvious that she liked Jefferson more than she liked him, and when the lesson was over and Belle came over to him to join him for his walk to the Great Hall, Rumple didn’t even look at her, still pissed about what he had seen in Potions.   
"That was interesting," Belle said softly. "It was really hard to survive this lesson. I feared our potion would be ruined a few times, but I did learn a lot from it. Quite clever of professor Jafar to team me up with Jefferson."  
"Clever?!" Rumplestiltskin replied, clearly annoyed, and the tapping of his cane on the stone floor sounded colder than ever. "You  _liked_  being teamed up with him?”  
Belle didn’t understand the anger in his tone, and frowned as she replied: “Yes. He’s a nice guy, bad at Potions, and that allowed me to take the lead. It’s precisely what I needed. It was clever of Jafar to split me up from you.”  
Rumplestiltskin wasn’t thinking logically, far from it, actually, and he did not understand what Belle was talking about, instead he was hearing nothing but rejection.   
"Feel free to split us up some more, then," he replied harshly. "If you like Jefferson all that much, why don’t you sit with him for lunch?"  
Belle gulped, stopping her steps to take his arm and turn him towards her. “What on earth has gotten into you?” she asked fiercely.   
He gripped his cane even tighter, looking into her eyes and seeing how frustrated she was. It took all his strength not to cry, and he said: “You’re better off with him, you say so yourself. You should stop wasting your time with me. Apparently I’ve got nothing to offer you.”  
Belle couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and watched in shock as he suddenly pulled away from her grip and headed up the stairs towards the Ravenclaw common room, instead of the Great Hall.   
"Rumple…" she said weakly, but he did not turn around. If he would have, she would have seen the tears on his face, and she would have gone after him for sure. 


	11. Gentle Hearts

Belle hardly ate anything that lunch. She sat alone at the table, wondering what had come over Rumplestiltskin to lash out at her like that. She hadn’t done anything wrong, had she? But then why had he spoken such cruel words and looked so… hurt? If only he’d come down to eat something, then Belle could make it up to him.   
As she headed to Herbology with her classmates, she noticed Rumplestiltskin still wasn’t around, and as she looked around frantically, it was something that didn’t go unnoticed to Victor Frankenstein, who’d just returned from the boys’ dormitories.   
"Rumplestiltskin is in the dormitories," he told her, knowing how close they were. "I went up to fetch my books, and he was in bed. He said he was feeling sick, so I don’t think he’ll show up."  
Belle felt even worse hearing that, and it showed on her face. “I must go to him,” she said softly, hoping that no one overheard her. She knew Victor took no pleasure from gossip and would keep it to himself.   
The blond boy nodded and Belle hurried away, hiding behind one of the large oak trees that stood on the terrain when their Herbology professor walked by.   
Five minutes later, Belle stood in front of the boys’ dormitories, not sure whether she should knock or not. Deciding against it, she slowly pushed the door open, glad that it didn’t make a sound, and she could hear soft crying from inside.  
As though she wasn’t feeling bad enough already, hearing him cry made her worry even more, and she closed the door behind her and headed to his bed, her steps light, but he had not heard them, not while he was wrapped in the cocoon of his four-poster bed, the curtains around him all closed, until Belle slid one of the curtains to the side.  
That did not go unnoticed to Rumple and he sniffed and gasped as he looked up, his cheeks burning from both tears and shame as he realized what she was beholding precisely. He was pathetic, wrapped in self-loathing and self-pity, but the fact that she had come to see him, even like this, returned the hope to his heart that she did care about him after all.   
"Rumple," she said compassionately, crawling onto the bed, her shoes quickly tossed to the floor besides his, sliding the curtain closed again so that they were surrounded by the comforting darkness, and she moved closer to him.  
He could not remain on his stomach, crying and moping with his face in his pillow, and sat up, his bottom lip trembling as he tried to take a few shaky breaths.  
She was by his side before he knew it, slipping an arm around his back while her free hand looked for the tears on his face, wiping them away one by one. He was burning up from all the fussing, and as he realized she was there for him, not for Jefferson or anyone else, all he could mumble was: “I’m sorry, Belle, I’m so sorry…”  
"Sh…" she shushed him gently. "Why so sad? Did I do something wrong?"  
The question alone caused his tears to well up again. “No,” he replied quickly. “It wasn’t you… It… it was  _nothing_.”  
” _Nothing_  usually doesn’t leave you crying, my sweetie,” she said softly, stroking her hand through his hair while the other rubbed over his back.   
The walls that he usually kept up without an effort, now all came crumbling down, her compassion as disarming as her Expelliarmus-spell.  
"I… I thought… I thought you were going to leave me… I… I have nothing to give you… If… if I can’t even be of any use to you with my knowledge in Potions - the only subject I’m better at than you - then… then what use would I have to you? You… you said so yourself that it was better for you without me, and…" He could hardly see her anymore, that was how blurry his sight was while he sat there, crying to her. "…and I’ve been rejected  _so_  much. I’m lame…” He waved his hand to his leg, shaking his head at the same time. “…and I’m friendless… I… I  have no money, no family, no good looks, and I have more enemies than I have Sickles… Once I leave Hogwarts… I’ll truly become dust… The thought you’ll forget me and move on is so much easier to believe than the thought you’ll stay in my life.”  
Hearing those words, Belle knew she had to prove to him that this was not how she thought about him - and that he was anything but replaceable to her. He was broken and lonely, but she would never turn her back on him.   
Moving closer, she kissed the tears from each of his cheekbones, hugging him tight as she looked at him, her own head only a few inches from his.  
"You’re not friendless," she said softly, but with determination in her voice. "You have me now. And I want your friendship too, Rumplestiltskin. I’ve never had a friend like you before, and I don’t want us to become strangers. So never believe that I will reject you, or believe that you have no good looks. I don’t think that’s true at all."  
His heart fluttered as he heard her say that, and watching her smile only warmed his heart further.   
"As for family," she continued. "You can be mine… if you want to."  
He nodded quickly, gulping away the last of his tears, her voice and words finally chasing away the doubts in his soul.   
"I’m so sorry I made you miss Herbology for this," he said softly, a sheepish smile on his face, and Belle merely shrugged, smiling mysteriously as she lay down on the bed, looking up at him.   
"Might as well take a nap then," she said invitingly, beckoning him to join her, and as he lay down on his side, looking into her eyes, he started to realize what a treasure his Belle truly was. She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his chest.   
He watched her as she drifted off into a light sleep, a small smile on his face, and he kissed the top of her head with nothing but affection in his heart.   
His Belle was everything he had ever needed in his life. 


	12. Starstruck

Missing out on Herbology hadn’t been a good idea, it turned out later that day. Professor Longbottom was now demanding to see the both of them later that week, not standing for any of his students skipping his class.   
That was why Belle and Rumplestiltskin headed to the greenhouses early on Saturday morning, not certain whether they’d get a detention or a lecture.   
Professor Longbottom was already there, smirking as he saw their nervous faces. “Well well, you must be wondering why you’re here…”  
Belle gulped, before she replied with a shaky voice: “Not really, professor. We skipped class and there is no excuse for that.”  
Longbottom chuckled. “Of course there are excuses. Point is, neither of you have tried making one yet. So tell me what was so important that you had to skip my class without as much as a note.”  
Rumplestiltskin would not let Belle take any of the blame, and answered: “It was me, professor. I wasn’t feeling well, and Belle merely wanted to make sure I was alright.”  
"As I recall it, Madame Pomfrey did not have any patients that day."  
"It was a different kind of unwell," Rumplestiltskin continued honestly, knowing that professor Longbottom would not accept any lies - and besides, he was an honest and fair professor. "I was upset…"  
"Upset?" Longbottom repeated, frowning slightly.  
"Crying," Rumplestiltskin corrected himself, casting his eyes down.  
Belle gulped, feeling bad for Rumplestiltskin. He was already insecure enough as it was. It was even worse that he now had to admit his weak moment of earlier that week to professor Longbottom.   
"I see you’re feeling better now," the professor continued kindly, knowing how sensitive Rumplestiltskin could be. "I assume you have your friend to thank for that?"  
Rumplestiltskin nodded quickly, and now it was Belle who cast her eyes down, blushing.   
"I understand," professor Longbottom continued. "I will not let this slip-up affect your grades, but I will give you a detention that will probably take up most of your morning and possibly your lunch time as well. I need some help getting the Venomous Tentacula I used in class this week back to Hogsmeade. If you assist me, you’ll get hands-on experience with this plant, just like your classmates, and should you have any questions about the plant, then I’d be happy to answer any of them."  
Belle and Rumplestiltskin eagerly accepted the detention. It nearly sounded too good to be true - they’d get to catch up on their lesson, and not just in the greenhouse, but on the way to Hogsmeade!

An hour later, they were in Hogsmeade, and professor Longbottom was talking to the owner of the Venomous Tentacula, an eerie looking lady who looked at them through one eye, sometimes alternating between eyes, but always keeping one eye shut. It was rather creepy to Belle, and the sight of Belle trying to hide behind Rumplestiltskin caused him to chuckle.   
"Professor Longbottom is so cool," Belle whispered, completely in awe of her professor. "This is like the coolest detention ever. He totally didn’t need us to go with him, but we did get the time to ask everything we needed to. I bet we know even more than the rest of our classmates now."  
Rumplestiltskin kept his voice down as well and continued: “I know, right? Just a shame we can’t go shopping or anything, but look at this! We’re in Hogsmeade again!”  
As professor Longbottom returned to them, they both kept quiet, and when he looked at the clock, he frowned a bit. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m thirsty. Come, I’ll buy you a Butterbeer. Just don’t tell the headmaster.”  
As they were sitting in the Hog’s Head Inn a few moments later, Belle could swear she hadn’t seen Rumplestiltskin so happy ever before. He was completely relaxed, looking at the Butterbeer in his hands, a content smile on his face. When he suddenly froze, Belle noticed this immediately, and she followed his gaze, turning her head to the doorway. She saw some people enter, and turned back to Rumplestiltskin, wondering who he had seen.   
"That’s Harry Potter," he whispered, and professor Longbottom, who was sitting with them, obviously heard that as well, immediately looking up.   
"Blimey, you’re right!" he said, standing up from his chair. "Harry, hey Harry!"   
The man with the messy hair and round glasses turned his head, obviously surprised to see Longbottom there in that moment.   
"Neville, it’s been ages! What are you doing here?"  
Belle wanted to say something to Rumplestiltskin while their professor was distracted, but he was looking at Harry Potter with an open mouth instead.   
Chuckling, Belle said softly: “I never thought we’d run into Harry Potter. How does he know professor Longbottom though?”  
"You don’t know?" Rumplestiltskin asked, turning his gaze to Belle. "They fought together in the Second Wizarding War. Longbottom was the leader of the resistance among the students at Hogwarts. That was in the year we were born."  
"Really?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down even if she could not hide her excitement. "I didn’t know that!"  
Rumplestiltskin was surprised by that. “You really are from the other side of the world, I guess! Everybody knows that!”  
"And what do we have here?"   
Belle and Rumplestiltskin looked up in surprise, seeing Harry Potter beam down at them.  
"Taking your students out for Butterbeer? What would headmistress McGonagall say?"  
Belle and Rumplestiltskin smiled sheepishly at the famous wizard, and watched in awe as professor Longbottom shook Harry Potter’s hand before he left.   
If they had not thought so before, they were now completely certain about it: professor Longbottom was the coolest professor at Hogwarts.


	13. Yule Ball Agony

Though professor Jafar teamed Belle up with Jefferson for half their lessons during the rest of the semester, it no longer bothered Rumplestiltskin as much as it had before.   
It was clear to him that Belle respected Jefferson, and that she often laughed at his jokes, but she still preferred to spend time with him after class, and that was all that mattered to him.   
But one day in November, the cauldron of Belle and Jefferson exploded, and that left Rumplestiltskin rather frustrated. Belle was alright, but professor Jafar insisted on giving both Jefferson and Belle a detention - at separate times - and so Belle was gone for most of Saturday afternoon, probably scrubbing the dungeon floor or something, while Rumplestiltskin sat in the Ravenclaw common room, helplessly waiting for his best friend, and the only person at Hogwarts whom he cared about.  
When Jefferson Hatter and Victor Frankenstein suddenly sat down opposite him as he was doing his homework, it confused Rumple. He hardly ever gained their attention, but he could tell from the way they were looking at him that they had something important to ask him.   
"Rumplestiltskin, we felt like we needed to talk to you about this first," Victor began formally, folding his hands in front of him as he looked at Rumple. Jefferson seemed to be moping, apparently not completely agreeing with Victor’s point of view. "You may have heard that people have started asking their partners for the Yule Ball, and both Jefferson and I had the intention of asking Belle to this year’s ball. However, realizing how close the two of you are, we wanted to check with you if that was alright. We do not want to set any ill blood."  
"It should be Belle’s choice, not his," Jefferson muttered, clearly not as convinced as Victor that this was something they needed to do. "Besides, he’s not going to dance."  
Rumplestiltskin sat there for a few moments, dazed by his thoughts and emotions.   
He had not considered going to the Yule Ball with Belle, but the thought that she’d go with anyone else, would drive him insane. Yet at the same time, he could understand what Jefferson said as well. He wouldn’t be able to dance with her, would he? He had never danced before in his life, and with his limp… He hated to think how ridiculous he’d seem to her - but what was the alternative? Let Victor and Jefferson ask her out?   
"Rumplestiltskin?" Victor asked, noticing how quiet he had remained during the entire conversation.   
"I…" Rumplestiltskin’s mouth felt dry, and he realized that if he said that they could not ask Belle, that he’d be obliged to ask her instead. That was a terrifying thought to him. He had never gone to the Yule Ball before, he didn’t even have anything to wear! He couldn’t afford anything. "I… I can’t go to the Yule Ball," he said softly, his heart swelling with misery and jealousy, and as he saw Jefferson grin happily, he felt like crying. "You can ask her," he said, looking at Victor, secretly hoping that if Belle chose anyone, she’d choose Victor. At least Victor wouldn’t gloat.  
As Belle suddenly entered the common room, both Victor and Jefferson stood up, wishing Rumplestiltskin a good day, but they did not head on over to Belle straight away. No, apparently they still needed to argue over who got to ask Belle first, and that meant that Rumplestiltskin would need to live in agony for a while longer.


	14. Picking a Partner

Belle had noticed a drop in Rumplestiltskin’s mood the past days. He didn’t smile as much, looked worried, nervous at times, and whenever she asked him if anything was wrong, he assured her that all was fine. She knew him better than that though, but could not figure out what was bothering him.  
She did not link Rumplestiltskin’s strange behavior to that of the other boys in her year. Jefferson and Frankenstein were extra kind to her, and so when Jefferson asked her to join him to the Yule Ball - during Potions, none the less - Belle did not realize that the Yule Ball had been what had been troubling Rumplestiltskin too.  
“I didn’t even know there was a ball,” had been her first response, though she had to admit that it was flattering that Jefferson would want to go with her. “I don’t have anything to wear,” she continued softly, casting her eyes down, and that was when she considered Rumplestiltskin. “I… I don’t know, Jefferson. Can eh… can my response wait until later today?”  
Jefferson looked a little disappointed that she didn’t immediately agree, but allowed her all the time she needed to consider his offer, and so Belle was about to head to Rumplestiltskin after Potions to ask him about it, when Victor suddenly pulled her to the side. “Hey, Belle,” he said softly. “I know that Jefferson asked you to the Yule Ball, but… just so you know… I’d also be happy to take you.”  
Belle just nodded, and apparently Victor didn’t need to hear her agreement either, not at that point, as he said: “Just let me know once you’ve given it some thought, alright?”  
Nodding again, Belle was finally able to make her way to Rumplestiltskin, who had noticed Frankenstein taking Belle to the side, and who was fearing the worst. He was unable to look at her as they made their way to the Great Hall, and just said: “Hey…”  
Belle bit her lip, still worried about his mood, and gently put her hand on his shoulder. “You alright?” she asked sweetly. “I can’t help but notice you haven’t been yourself lately.”  
He shrugged. “Just a little depressed, I guess,” he muttered, still not looking at her. “I’m fine.”  
Belle took his hand and stopped walking, letting the other students pass them by, and he looked at her in confusion.   
“I know something that will cheer you up,” she said warmly. “Why don’t we go to the Yule Ball together?”  
She noticed the shock in his gaze, and she could see the gloominess disappear from his eyes and make way for joy, but as he gulped, she saw the doubt return to him, and he replied: “I… I’d love to but, I eh… I don’t have anything to wear…”  
Belle shrugged. “Then we’ll get you something to wear.”  
“No, you don’t understand,” he replied, keeping a firm hold of her hand. “I can’t afford anything to wear… and I can’t just go in my uniform - there’s a dress code and such.” He cast his eyes down, looking sadder than ever.   
“Hey, we can work something out, I’m sure of it. Perhaps we can transfigure some other clothes of yours?”  
He shook his head. “My clothes are too old and shabby to be transformed into anything decent, I’m afraid… Per-perhaps you’d better go with someone else. I don’t want you to look ridiculous. Besides, I can’t dance with my leg and everything…”  
Looking how miserable and depressed he now seemed, Belle finally realized what had been bothering him the past days. He had known about the Yule Ball before she had, and that was why he’d been so gloomy.   
“Rumple…” she said compassionately, but he didn’t look up. “Hey, look at me…”  
She only realized how miserable he was precisely when she looked into his eyes - and once more she was reminded of a lost puppy. “Sweetie,” she said softly, as she always did in those moments. “It’s alright. I’ll help you get dress robes, promise… And as for dancing, it’s not the most important thing about the evening. So, please, answer this question now… will you go to the Yule Ball with me?”  
He was squeezing his lips together, trying not to cry, but eventually he nodded, a smile coming to his face. He wouldn’t have to worry about her going with anyone else. She’d chosen him instead, even if he had not asked her. That was something that made him feel good about himself, and he nodded happily.   
“I’d love to go to the Yule Ball with you,” he replied finally, no longer upset, and he lifted her hand some higher and placed a kiss on its back, not looking away from her this time. “And I know I’m not exactly a catch, but… I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll do anything you want. You’ll be my lady, and I will treat you as such.”  
He spoke so softly, so intimately, that Belle’s cheeks began to burn, and she licked her lips in nervous anticipation.   
Rumplestiltskin wasn’t like the other boys, but she supposed that that was what she loved so much about him.


	15. Rain

As everyone packed up their belongings at the end of their Herbology lesson, Rumplestiltskin patiently waited for Belle to get everything together as well. The classroom was practically empty by the time they wished professor Longbottom a good evening, and as they headed outside, the cold rain fell on them. In the distance they could see the other students running as quickly as they could towards the castle, shrieking and shouting to each other, but with Rumplestiltskin’s limp it was impossible to do the same.  
Belle put up the hood of her robes, and helped Rumplestiltskin do the same while he held onto his bag with one hand, and leaned onto his cane with the other.   
“Thanks,” he said softly, looking depressed because he’d get the both of them soaked.   
Belle honestly didn’t mind, and staid close to him as they made their way to the castle.  
“You know, Belle,” he began in a quiet tone. “You don’t have to stay with me. If you want, you can run to the castle, get yourself to a dry place.”  
“It’s no trouble at all,” she assured him. “After all, we can whisk away the rain once we’re inside.”  
“I know,” he replied quickly. “It’s just… I don’t want to hold you back…”  
“You’re not,” she insisted, smiling at him, though she noticed something was bothering him once more. “But I can’t help but notice that you often seem depressed around me, almost regretful. What is it about me that gives you such dark thoughts all the while? You don’t always seem happy, and I regret that.”  
Shocked that she had noticed that, Rumplestiltskin looked at her, too baffled to say anything for a few moments.   
“Belle… It’s… it’s just that I feel like I’m holding you back, all the time… And while I absolutely  _love_  being your friend… I can’t help but feel guilty for daring to ask you to be a part of my life. It’s not my right. I shouldn’t be here, holding you back. You can do so much better without me, I’m sure of it.”  
What hurt Belle most was the absolute sincerity in those words. He completely believed what he said, and Belle could never understand why.   
"Rumple, why is it so hard to believe that someone could want you?” she asked softly, wishing that it were possible to take his hand, but he was making sure his bag did not slip from his shoulder and holding his cane with the other hand.   
As she only received a shrug as a reply, she took his arm and directed him towards a large oak tree, standing underneath its branches and leaves for shelter from the rain. By now, he knew her well enough to know that whenever she made him stop somewhere isolated, it was because she wanted to talk to him - usually about things that left him emotional afterwards.  
She put her own bag against the base of the tree and offered to take his as well. Rumplestiltskin obliged and watched her as she put their bags together, and as she turned to him, smiling, he was once more completely breathless because of how beautiful she looked. Her curly hair came out underneath the hood and the blue trim brought out the color in her eyes even more.   
She did not miss the affection in his eyes as she looked at him, and returned it eagerly, walking over to him to take his hand in hers.   
“We’ve known each other for several months now,” she began softly, almost shyly. “And in those months, you’ve not only taught me my way around Hogwarts, or helped me improve in Potions, but you’ve been a dear friend who has listened to my ramblings, joined me for hours of silence in the library, and has sat besides me for all of my meals. I think you’re intelligent, resourceful, witty and kind…”  
Unused to so much praise, Rumplestiltskin blushed, even though he knew that there was more to come, there always was with Belle.  
“…so now, I would like to ask you again… Why is it that you think I’d be better off with other people? I know you were isolated before I came to Hogwarts - I’ve seen the bullying of Hordor and his mates… But… you don’t believe I could want you, not even when I asked you to the Yule Ball.”  
He knew what she was going to ask - he knew what he’d not told her during all those months.  
“And… and I know you always reply very briefly whenever I ask about your past, but… You never told me how you ended up an orphan, or if you even remember anything of your parents. And you never told me how you got that limp either… And I think that if I’d know that, then perhaps I’d understand why you’re always pushing me away when…”  
Rumplestiltskin raised his hand, stopping her rambling, and though he gulped nervously, he also offered her a reassuring smile.   
Glad to see he was not upset with her asking, Belle slowly let out a relieved sigh, waiting patiently for his reply.   
“Belle,” he began softly. “I know I don’t talk about my past. The reason why is simple: I’d rather forget about it. And while I was able to forget it for so many years, you brought back thoughts and memories.”  
Noticing her small, confused frown, he explained: “With you in my life, I have started to think about my future, and, for some reason, those thoughts always lead me back to my past. So, whenever I think of a future with you, I think about my past, about all the times I was rejected, and then I can’t help but believe that you’ll reject me too, like everyone else has done.”   
“I won’t,” Belle whispered, afraid to disturb him, but at the same time unwilling to let him believe that.  
He appreciated her telling him that - even if he realized he’d need to hear that a hundred times over before he’d start to believe it himself.   
“I don’t know much about my family…” he started. “My mother got pregnant with me against her own wish, or so my father used to tell me. My father didn’t know of my birth until she left me in his care when I was fifteen months old, and he never saw her again. He didn’t know where to find her, and so he took care of me himself, even if he did not want to. Apparently my mother had no money to take care of me, but she had no desire to live with my father either, so she just left me with him.”  
Belle held her breath while he told her all of this, already realizing how horrible it had to be for him that his mother had abandoned him. But it got worse…  
“Father wasn’t particularly rich, but he got us by most of the time… He gambled a lot, conned other wizards for a few petty sickles, and all I can remember him telling me, is how he’d be better off without me, and how difficult it was to provide for two while I wasn’t doing any work at all. He used to take me to a forest, not too far from Glasgow. It was private property, belonging to a bird lover who held his Augureys there - Irish Phoenixes, as they’re also known as. Father had found someone who’d buy all Augurey eggs he could find, and so, whenever it rained, we’d head to that forest, and we’d hear the bloody birds for miles. At first, it was my father who climbed in the trees to get the eggs from their nests, but when I was six, he forced me to climb into the trees instead. I hated it, and usually I found nothing but empty nests by the time I reached the top. But then, one very rainy day, I found a nest with three eggs. I tried to take one, but the mother bird attacked me, and I fell down. I don’t even know how high it was, but I broke my ankle - and perhaps more than that. Father took me home as I cried, but refused to take me to a doctor. After all, stealing Augurey eggs is forbidden by law, and he thought I’d tell the doctor. I can remember being in bed for weeks, crying. My father wasn’t a bad wizard, but healing spells completely went over his head. The two squibs who lived below us heard my crying and eventually came up, talking to my father, arguing with him that I needed to go to Saint Mungo. When he refused to take me, they took me instead. They healed what they could, but the damage had already been done, and I was left with a limp. When I returned home with my two neighbors, my father had gone, run off, and I never saw him again.”  
Belle had listened patiently, a compassionate frown on her face, and she whispered: “I’m so sorry, Rumple…”  
He merely chuckled, shaking his head. “That’s not all though. My two neighbors - two friendly women - took me in for the next few years. They taught me to read and write. I assume that they felt responsible for a bit, and they seemed to take pity on me. However, they were old, and when one died, the other grew miserable as well. She believed that I would be better off with people who weren’t as depressed as she was, and so I ended up in my first orphanage at the age of nine. I had not demonstrated any sign that I was magical at all, and I know that they believed that I was without magic, for they said that I would have saved myself from that fall if I had magic. So I went into a Muggle orphanage. Didn’t really make any friends. While all the boys would be on the street, playing football, I’d be inside, reading the same books over and over again. I’d almost forgotten about my magical heritage by the time I was ten.”  
He paused, sighing sadly before he continued: “Some of the other boys got adopted. No one ever wanted me. I was small, broken… It’s like going into a dog pound. Nobody picks the dog with a missing leg. Besides, I was old compared to many of the other boys, timid, shy… Probably ugly too, that’s what I told myself to make it easier to deal with all the rejection.”   
Belle wished to hold him as she heard him say those words, but she kept quiet, realizing he wasn’t done with his tale yet.   
“I was magical though, but I didn’t realize it myself. Not until I woke up with the rest of the boys that slept in my room screaming and crying. Without me even realizing it, I had floated up in my sleep, and the Muggle boys had panicked and started screaming in fear as they had seen me in mid-air. Two hours later, the Ministry of Magic was there, erased the memories of those boys, and a transfer was arranged. I was told I’d go to Hogwarts when I turned eleven, and that I could stay in another orphanage in Glasgow until then. I still stay there during the summers. I’ve got a tiny room all to myself now. But it’s good that I don’t have to share the room with any Muggle boys, just in case I start floating again at night. And they allow me to sit there during the day, to read and such. That way I don’t bother anyone and no one bothers me.”  
Deciding that that was about all he could tell her about himself, he cast his eyes down, a wry smile on his lips. He looked up in surprise when she suddenly tossed her arms around him, hugging him tight. Closing his eyes, he hugged her back, wondering to himself if anyone had ever held him with so much love as Belle was holding him now.


	16. Her Favorite Book

Belle hadn’t been able to forget about Rumplestiltskin’s tragic backstory. She now understood why he thought he was unlovable, and she knew that he did not love himself either. It was a wonder that he managed to make it through each day without hurting himself because of it, and Belle had been wanting to do something to make him feel better.  
She had secretly written a letter to her father, to tell her about Rumplestiltskin, and to ask him if he could come over to them during Christmas break, but she had kept that a secret from Rumplestiltskin. She didn’t want him to be disappointed in case her father said no. She could not bear the thought of giving him hope and then taking it away from him.  
Then, one evening after they had finished their homework and Belle had gone up to her room to get something to read, she came across a book she had not read in a while, but she remembered each and every word, and she knew it would be a perfect story for Rumplestiltskin.  
She joined Rumplestiltskin on the sofa, sitting next to him with an eager grin, and she held out the book to him. “It’s a gift,” she announced proudly. “Something I want you to have.”  
Rumplestiltskin frowned, a little confused. “What’s the occasion?”  
“No occasion,” she assured him. “I just want you to have this. It’s my favorite book and… Well, it’s changed my view on life, I guess, when I first read it. Now I want you to read it too.”  
Rumplestiltskin was not used to getting gifts, but this was one that he could not deny himself and he smiled warmly. “Thanks, Belle. I will treasure this.”  
There was no title on the leather around the book, and as he turned to the first page and read the title, he smiled. He wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the story, and as he thought about it, he figured that it wasn’t so surprising that this was one of the books that had inspired his Belle in her life.

_The Beauty and the Beast_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was more a short drabble, written in honor of International Literacy Day. I know, bit weird after such a long chapter to put such a short one next. The next one will be longer again.


	17. A Wonderful Gift

Hogsmeade was covered in snow that Saturday, and as Belle and Rumplestiltskin made their way to Gladrags Wizardwear, they had to dodge the snowballs that the other students were throwing at one another across the streets of the small town. It was freezing cold, but still everyone seemed jolly, and Belle and Rumplestiltskin were rather excited as well.  
“Watch out!”  
Belle was just in time to dodge a snowball that Red had thrown and warned her about, and it only took her a moment to look at the other side and see that she was fighting Jefferson and Victor, who were giggling as they hid behind a bench.  
As they passed them by, Rumplestiltskin seemed surprised. “They seemed friendly with one another. How did that happen? I thought Red had no friends.”  
Belle chuckled. “When I turned down Jefferson and Victor, they told me how difficult it was to find nice girls to take to the ball. I told them about Red, and apparently they have taken the initiative to befriend her.”  
“Playing quite the matchmaker, aren’t we?” Rumplestiltskin teased her, and she beamed with pride because of that.  
As they entered Gladrags Wizardwear, they stomped their boots on the mat, making sure their boots were snow-free, and this attracted the attention of the older witch that worked in the shop. She smiled warmly, glad they were considerate enough to get their boots clean before they started browsing the racks of clothing, and asked warmly: “Is there anything I could help you with?”  
It was Belle who spoke, replying politely: “We need clothes for the Yule Ball.”  
“A little late, are you not?” she replied with a friendly smile, moving towards one of the corners of the shop, Belle and Rumplestiltskin following her. “I sell most of the Yule dresses in August already, before the school year starts. Didn’t expect to go, perhaps?”  
Both Belle and Rumplestiltskin shook their heads, and the woman chuckled softly because of it. “Going with one another, I assume?”  
They both nodded, perfectly in sync with one another, and this amused the woman even more.   
“Any specific colors you had in mind?”  
They looked at one another, but had to admit that they didn’t have a clue.   
“How about this one?” the woman suggested, taking a beautiful yellow dress from the rack. “I think it’s your size. It will show off your bare shoulders - is that too revealing for you? Perhaps too cold?”  
Belle quickly shook her head, taking the dress in her hand. The skirt was massive, and it reminded her of what a princess would wear. She was already in love with it, and so was Rumplestiltskin.   
“It’s beautiful,” Belle said softly.  
“I agree,” Rumplestiltskin added.   
“Can I try it?” she asked carefully, and the woman encouraged her to do so.  
“Of course, my dear. Just ask if you need some help, alright?”  
Belle eagerly took the dress with her to change, and Rumplestiltskin was left standing with the woman, feeling a little awkward because he was not used to shopping - for anything, really. The clothes he wore during summers were all second-hand muggle outfits, and during the school year he had two uniforms to wear, with just as many pairs of socks and underwear.   
“Now there’s an outfit that I have around here somewhere that matches your girlfriend’s perfectly."   
Rumplestiltskin didn’t have the heart to tell the woman that Belle wasn’t his girlfriend, and just followed her until she suddenly pulled out a blue long vest with a golden trim and a high collar, and with a white shirt and black pants underneath.  
"Why don’t you try these?”  
Rumplestiltskin eagerly went to change as well, and was the first to emerge from the small changing cabin, while he heard Belle ask the lady for help with tying her in.   
As he looked at himself in the mirror, he was stunned. He looked like a prince - a proper prince - and not like the poor scumbag that he was.   
“Wow, you look beautiful!” Belle said sweetly as she emerged as well, and as Rumplestiltskin watched her, his mouth dropped. She looked like a true princess, and he had never seen so much skin exposed on her before. Her bare shoulders were perfect, and he could even see the exact shape and form of her breasts, thinking to himself that he had never seen anything softer than that.   
He quickly pulled his gaze away from that particular area of her body to look at the rest of her, but he was unable to comment on how perfect she looked. She would be the most beautiful girl at the ball - at least to him.   
“Now is the time you’re supposed to say something nice to your girlfriend,” the old woman encouraged him playfully, and Rumplestiltskin blushed fiercely.   
“Y-yes… you… you look beautiful.”  
If Belle would not have believed his words, she would have believed his love-struck expression. It was like he hardly remembered to breathe.  
Belle stepped closer to him, inspecting how well his outfit fit him, but there was nothing off about it - it was a perfect match.   
“Would you like to try any other outfits?” the woman asked kindly.   
“No,” both Belle and Rumplestiltskin replied, knowing that these would be what they’d wear to the ball, and they both returned to take off the outfits.  
As Rumplestiltskin once more finished first, he was looking at the socks, not interested in the funny ones or the brightly colored ones, but just feeling how warm and cozy the simple black ones seemed to be. They were of magnificent quality compared to what he had himself, and he regretted not having any money.   
As Belle came out of her cabin, she noticed how he was staring at the socks, and she walked until she stood besides him.   
“Are these your size?” she wondered, pointing at a pair, and as he nodded, she took them from the rack as well, not giving him a chance to protest.   
As she went to the older lady to pay, Rumplestiltskin followed her, and she took out the twelve galleons her father had sent her by owl. When the older lady said that it cost fourteen galleons, both Rumplestiltskin and Belle suddenly turned very red.   
“And without the socks?” Rumplestilskin asked weakly, hating this feeling more than anything in the world.   
“We only have twelve,” Belle said weakly, realizing that it wouldn’t be the socks that would make a difference, they hardly cost anything. They were going to have to turn in something else.   
“Perhaps the pants?” Rumplestiltskin suggested, feeling sad to have to go in his plain pants. He had looked forward to wearing the fancier ones.   
“It’s a set,” the old witch said, feeling bad in Belle and Rumplestiltskin’s place.   
Rumplestiltskin took Belle to the side, saying: “Perhaps I should ask for something cheaper, Belle. It’s not my money in the first place. They will probably have something else for me to wear.”  
“No!” she insisted, feeling miserable. “I want you to wear that outfit. You look so handsome in it!”  
“But it’s not my money…”  
“But it’s my gift. Let me do this for you, you hardly have anything as it is. I don’t want you to think of that when we go to the ball, I want you to be as fancy as me. I could ask for a cheaper dress.”  
“No, Belle, I don’t want you to wear something else either!”  
They were almost crying, that was how strongly they felt about it, and how horrible it was to them that they had no money to solve this issue.   
“Hold on,” the older woman suddenly said, having heard every word. “Miss, there’s a problem with your dress.”  
Belle and Rumplestiltskin frowned, wondering what she meant.   
“I just noticed that the bottom hem isn’t a blind one, as I had asked them to make. I will have to let them redo it.”  
Belle and Rumplestiltskin were both confused, not understanding what the problem was - the dress was perfect as it was.   
“I can’t let you buy this. It’s not as I ordered it. I will need to let them repair it, or ask them for a discount.”  
“She’ll take it as it is,” Rumplestiltskin said stubbornly. “I’d like to try on something cheaper.”  
The woman frowned, shaking her head. “No, in this case, I will have to give you a discount on the dress then, if you’d take it like this. It would come to a total of eleven galleons.”  
Both Belle and Rumplestiltskin looked at the woman with a perplexed expression. They could not believe their luck, and they both nodded at the same time.   
“That would be wonderful!”  
“Perfect, really!”  
Feeling like they owed the woman now, Belle said: “Well we have one galleon left. How about I treat you to some more socks? Perhaps some underwear?”  
“Sounds romantic,” Rumplestiltskin teased her, and Belle giggled, taking his hand to take him back into the shop, helping him pick anything he needed, glad she could support him in this way.


	18. The Creature from Hell

_He hardly knew why they had been fighting, but Belle was angry with him. He knew that, because he could hear her shouting at him as he ran away, expressing her dislike of him, and it broke Rumplestiltskin’s heart. He stumbled over the Hogwarts grounds, into the moonlight forest - tears streaming down his face._   
_He wasn’t able to go very far or very fast, his limp not allowing him to make any speed, and when he suddenly fell to the dirty ground, he remained there - crying because he felt useless and unloved._   
_A chilling breeze alerted him to the fact that he was not alone, and as he looked up, a dark figure stood in front of him - seemingly faceless in the darkness of the night, the moon behind his head illuminating none of his features, and Rumplestiltskin’s hands started shaking, terror taking a hold of his heart. Whoever this man was, it felt as though he had been spit out by hell itself._   
_The figure suddenly dropped something, and as Rumplestiltskin stared at the ground in front of him, he noticed the blade that had fallen, a curved dagger with the name “Zoso” on it._   
_It was a name that stood out to him, a name he had never heard before, and as Rumplestiltskin took hold of the dagger - even though he had no intention of using it for anything - the faceless figure spoke up._   
_“Stab me with that dagger, and you will get your wish.”_   
_“What wish?” Rumplestiltskin asked weakly._   
_“Any wish,” the voice replied patiently._   
_For a moment, the young Ravenclaw was silent, before saying: "I have no wishes.“_   
_"Yes, you do,” the voice continued. “You wish for Belle to be your love. For people to respect you. For that limp to stop dragging you down.”_   
_As Rumplestiltskin was about to turn his head to look at his leg, he suddenly felt the roots of the trees around him wrap him up, first his legs, then the rest of his body, dragging him underground. He screamed as he saw the hooded figure above him, standing still, making no effort to help him as he struggled against the branches._   
_“Next time, stab me,” the voice spoke. “Do what you must to get your wish.”_   
_Rumplestiltskin could feel the wood curl around each of his limbs, and even around his neck, pulling him further down and down, into the cruel fires of hell, until he was unable to breathe._

Rumplestiltskin awoke, screaming for his life, and it only took a few seconds for his roommates to wake. Victor was by his side in seconds, pulling open the curtains to look at him. Rumplestiltskin was trying to kick the blankets off of him, bathing in his own sweat, and Victor touched his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.  
“Hey, mate, it was just a dream! Wake up!”  
Rumplestiltskin’s breathing became more regular as he heard those words, nodding quickly. The details of the dream were already becoming vague as reality settled in, and while Victor and Jefferson returned to sleep, Rumplestiltskin could not do the same.   
Why on earth would he have such a strange dream? Belle and him hadn’t fought. She had never raised her tone at him, and he could not imagine she ever would. She was the sweetest person he’d ever met.  
Yet some parts of the dream could not be ignored.  
 _Zoso._  
Who on earth was Zoso? And why did it feel like he wasn’t just a figment of his imagination? 


	19. A Round of Good News

With the Yule Ball drawing closer and closer and only a week left to go, Hogwarts had transformed into the coziest castle imaginable - at least to Belle. She would stop to look at each Christmas decoration, and she loved nothing more than to eat her pudding near one of the Christmas trees in the Great Hall - it made her feel all warm and fuzzy - which she told Rumplestiltskin over and over again.   
As a familiar owl landed on the table between Belle and Rumplestiltskin, Belle gasped. “It’s my dad’s!” she said happily, taking the note from the owl’s feet, quickly opening it to read it. Her smile only widened by the time she finished the note, and she happily announced: “Rumplestiltskin, I have some great news. You can spend the Christmas holidays with my father and I, if you like!”  
Rumplestiltskin had already prepared himself for a few weeks of misery without Belle, and he had not dared to dream that she would invite him into his house - or that her father would allow it. The news came as a complete surprise to him.  
“W-what?” he asked, completely confused, though he had a smile on his face at the same time. "You asked your father?"  
Belle nodded proudly and put her hand on his as it lay on the table, gently squeezing it.  
Even while she was being so magnificent, he could not help but worry. “But is it even allowed to visit you when I’m a minor and such?”  
Belle grinned eagerly. “My dad had to pull a few strings, but everything is settled. You’re allowed to spend the holidays with us!”  
Rumplestiltskin was about to thank Belle - he felt like kissing her - but got interrupted when Red suddenly sat down at their table, beaming proudly.   
"Guess what?" the Gryffindor said excitedly, and both Belle and Rumplestiltskin looked at one another and shrugged, unable to guess why Red was so happy.   
“I wanted to come and thank you, Belle!” she continued happily, and they both wondered why. “Because of you, Jefferson asked me to the ball. I never would have been able to go if you hadn’t told him to introduce himself to me! He’s quite fun!”  
Belle was glad to hear that, and she was happy for her younger friend. “That’s great, Red!” Her thoughts soon went to another classmate though, and she bit her lip as she thought about him. “I wonder what Victor’s going to do. I thought he wanted to go to the ball as well. Do you know if he’s found a date yet?”  
Red shrugged. “No idea, actually. I assume he’s just going to come with us, date or no date? He’s always hanging around Jefferson anyway…”  
Rumplestiltskin realized how lucky he was to be able to take Belle to the Yule Ball. He even felt sorry for his classmate. Victor was a good and intelligent guy, shame that no one seemed to value that anymore.   
As Red dove into her schoolbag, she suddenly took out some playing cards. “Would you guys like to play Exploding Snap with me? Granny sent it to me, as an early Christmas present. I used to play it with Snow, but haven’t played it in ages.”  
“I’m not very good at it,” Rumplestiltskin admitted shyly, though he was rather eager to try it. Truth was that no one had ever asked him to play it and he only knew the rules because he had so often watched other housemates play the game without him.  
“How’s it played?” Belle wondered curiously, closing her book as she looked at the cards. She had seen others play it from a distance, but having been tutored in private all those years, she had no idea what the game was about precisely.  
Red was happy to instruct them. After all - it didn’t occur often that a Gryffindor was able to teach two Ravenclaws something new.


	20. What friends are for...

With only a few days left to go until the Yule Ball and their winter holidays, Rumplestiltskin was growing rather nervous. As he sat on his bed, putting on his socks, Victor started laughing all of a sudden.  
“Rumple, where’s your mind at? Your socks have different colors!"   
Realizing his mistake, Rumplestiltskin quickly took the right sock from his drawer, smiling softly as he remembered buying them with Belle.   
"He’s in  _luuuuuv_ …” Jefferson sang in a teasing way.  
“Shut up,” Rumplestiltskin said briefly, blushing fiercely.   
“You have to admit that it’s been distracting you,” Victor said. “We’ve noticed.”  
Feeling frustrated, Rumplestiltskin said: “Well yeah, of course it’s distracting me! This will be my first proper Christmas in… _in a lifetime_! And I don’t even have clothes to wear for Christmas day!” Willing to show his classmates what he meant, he opened the tiny old suitcase he took with him each year, revealing a ripped Muggle jeans and shirts that looked like they had barely survived both Wizarding Wars. “I never wear any of my personal clothes at Hogwarts, only my uniform, but I can’t wear my uniform if I’m going over there for Christmas, can I? What sort of impression would I leave on her father if I decide to wear these?!”  
Both Victor and Jefferson remained quiet, realizing how bad it had to be to have nothing at all - no proper clothes, no family, no money, not even a good health. Those clothes weren’t even suitable for winter. In all his years, Rumplestiltskin had never opened up to them about much, and neither had they to him, but since Belle had joined their house, things had changed for all of them.   
For a moment they did not know what to say, but Victor was the first to move. Coming from a wealthy family himself, Victor had no lack of clothing. He opened his own suitcase, pulling out his smallest sweaters. They would probably be too big for Rumple, but he could always shrink them a bit. There were plenty of spells to overcome that issue. He also found a pair of black pants - of a thicker fabric than their uniform pants - and walked over to Rumplestiltskin, handing it to him.   
“You can borrow these, if you like. I won’t be needing them over the holidays.”  
Following his example, Jefferson also went into his suitcase, taking a few of his finest long-sleeved shirts and a fancy leather coat.  
“You’ll need a warm coat for if you go out, of course,” he added, dropping the coat and shirts on his bed. “Just make sure it’s all in a good state when you give it back, alright?”  
Rumplestiltskin didn’t know what to say. He’d never expected this, but he could not find it in his heart to decline their help - he really couldn’t. What else was he going to do to make a decent impression on Belle’s father?   
“Thanks guys,” he said softly, clearly moved by their help, and they both grinned.   
“No thanks,” Jefferson quickly replied, dropping back onto his bed. “Just make sure that things between Belle and you work out. If not, we’re going to be very annoyed that we couldn’t get her as our date to the Yule Ball.”


	21. A Rose for Belle

With only one night to go before the Yule Ball, the atmosphere at Hogwarts changed. Hordor and his pals looked more annoyed than ever, trying to find isolated victims, but now that Red hung around Jefferson and Victor, and Rumple had Belle, they didn’t know what to do. Though there was a group of them, they did not like to be challenged, and they had learned from experience that it was better not to mess with the Australian girl’s friends. But around this time of year, everyone seemed to be around others, and Hordor and his pals had their minds set on bullying, not on enjoying each other’s company. Needless to say that it was a depressing time of year for them, while it was quite the opposite for many others.  
While the bullies looked miserable, Red was beaming with joy. Jefferson seemed to think he was the coolest kid at Hogwarts as he had his arm lazily around Red’s shoulder, walking with her through the Hogwarts corridors as he told her all about the latest ten times his cauldron had blown up in Potions. Victor was right besides them, his mind a million miles away, not entirely certain whether his friend’s company was as entertaining now as it had been before.  
Rumplestiltskin had not failed to notice that Belle was extra affectionate these days. She would take his free hand as he was walking, sometimes his entire arm, and she’d sit closer than usual whenever they sat by the fire. It wasn’t unpleasant, far from it, but it was making him sweaty and nervous around her.   
The night before, she had even given him a goodnight kiss! On the cheek, but still…   
As they sat in front of the fire, reading as usual, Rumplestiltskin was finally finishing the copy of Beauty and the Beast that she had given him. As Jefferson and Victor finally entered, probably after hanging out with Red the entire evening, Jefferson said: “Better get to bed soon, lovebirds. Tomorrow’s the Yule Ball! Don’t want to fall asleep on the dance floor, do you?”  
Jefferson winked playfully before he headed up the stairs to the dormitories, and Victor wished them a good night, which they wished him in return as well.   
“Sorry about him,” Rumplestiltskin said softly, averting his gaze.  
“Why are you apologizing?” Belle wondered, lowering her book into her lap as she looked at him, immediately noticing his light blush and finding it intriguing.  
“Well… for calling us… you know…”  
“Lovebirds?” Belle filled in for him, smiling widely. “Do you mind?”  
Hesitating for a moment, Rumplestiltskin gulped. He was certain that this was a trick question of sorts, and so he kept quiet.  
“I don’t mind,” Belle answered for him, and she raised her book again, continuing her read.   
Wondering why she did not mind at all, and not understanding his small and beautiful friend, Rumplestiltskin continued his reading, closing the book firmly when he was finished.   
That was the moment Belle had been waiting for for ages, and she looked up. “Finished?”  
“I am,” he said proudly. “And I loved it. This is a very pretty version of the fairy tale. Very… romantic…” Though it wasn’t something that boys would often admit, Rumplestiltskin was beginning to think he was a romantic at heart. He wanted nothing more than to give Belle a castle to roam in, all of his own, or to shower her bed with rose petals…  
As a thought occurred to him, he pulled his wand from his cane and softly waved it through the air, creating a single red rose in the palm of his hand. He then offered it to her, smiling shyly, his heart warming as he saw Belle’s delighted expression.   
“For you - if you’ll have it,” he whispered.   
As the last people present just left to go to bed, Belle looked up for a second, then back to Rumplestiltskin, sweetly taking the rose from his hand.   
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, looking at it affectionately. No one had ever given her a flower before, and this rose was just perfect. To Belle, it was a declaration of love, and she hoped that he knew that she loved him as well.   
Leaning into him, she noticed that he moved forward as well, his lips parted - perhaps from nervousness, perhaps from anticipation - Belle did not dare to say which it was. But as her own lips were just a blink of a moment separated from his, he turned his head slightly, leaving Belle to kiss… well - not his lips - not entirely. No more than the corner of his mouth, and she pulled away quickly, noticing how Rumplestiltskin had once more averted his eyes and was quickly putting his wand back in his cane - if only to appear busy to her.  
Slightly disappointed, and realizing how awkward this was, Belle averted her eyes as well, closing her own book, but still holding onto the rose.   
“Thank you,” she said, pretending nothing had happened. “I will give the rose a good spot on my bedside table.”  
She slowly got up from the sofa, only a little disappointed that Rumplestiltskin did not stop her. “See you tomorrow. Sleep well…”  
“Sleep well, Belle,” he replied softly, only looking at her when she had her back turned to him, wondering if she really loved him like he loved her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to post a new chapter to this story today after I heard the news of Alan Rickman's death. I've been distraught, crying half the day and not really knowing what to do with myself. Alan Rickman was a big crush of mine when I was 18, and my fascination with him lasted well over a decade. I continued to respect him even as I moved along from the Harry Potter fandom, onto Once Upon a Time, where Robert Carlyle became the actor that drew my fascination now. I am not even sure if I would have become such a massive HP fan if it had not been for Alan Rickman captivating my interest. I wrote Snape fanfiction long before OUAT existed, shipping him with Luna, Hermione, Tonks... You name it, I probably wrote it at some point. But all in Dutch, and never with any smut in anything, since I was still "innocent" in my writing then. ;-) (Oh boy times have surely changed on that behalf!) Snape was an inspiration, and so was Alan Rickman. My favorite movies of his will forever be Galaxy Quest - a movie about geeks, for geeks, made with so much love that it always has me feeling less alone... And Sense and Sensibility, where he teamed up with Emma Thompson, something he did many times in his career - and he played such a delightfully warmhearted character, which was a welcome change from seeing him as the villain in Die Hard or Prince of Thieves.   
> I absolutely loved Alan Rickman. I had a massive poster of him as Snape in my computer room at my old parent's place, before I finally moved out, and in my apartment I soon bought a little statue of Alan Rickman as Snape (from the Gentle Giant series), and it has had a position of honor in my glass cabinet for years...   
> I may be writing a lot of Rumbelle right now, but I must not forget which idols came before, and Alan Rickman stole a large part of my heart. Today that part of my heart feels scarred, and I will forever miss him. I feel so sorry for his family and friends and can't imagine the loss they're going through when I already feel heartbroken myself.   
> My sympathies to all other Potterheads who - like me - feel like a little part of them is missing today.


	22. Hot and Bothered

Rumplestiltskin had trouble sleeping that night. At first he had been unable to find sleep, thinking about Belle and how she had leaned in to kiss him that evening, and how he had been unable to just do it, even though he wanted it.   
In his dream, he relived the moment, but instead of him turning away, it was Belle who was now turning away, leaving him exceptionally bothered over and over again as he was left kissing her cheek each time, instead of her sweet lips.  
It was no real surprise that he woke a few hours before dawn, his erection straining against his pajama pants, and he was in no particular mood to ignore it this night.   
Taking his wand, he made sure to use a Muffliato charm so that no one in the room could hear him, and he checked to see if the curtains around his four-poster bed were completely closed. He had seldom been this aroused, though it wasn’t the first time Belle had left him hot and bothered.   
He could remember the first day they met, how Hordor and his bullies had kicked him to the ground, and how Belle had chased them away and taken him in her arms. He had leaned against her chest - her bosom more alluring than any pillow to him, and he had immediately realized how sexually attracted he was to her.   
A few months later, he could remember her sitting on the sofa next to him, on her knees, leaning over the edge to pick something up from the floor. He wasn’t sure if she had reached for her bag or for something else, but he had nearly been able to see underneath her skirt, and the bare skin of her legs had looked _so_ smooth. He could easily imagine himself lifting that skirt and stroking her bare skin, surprising her with his boldness.   
But she wouldn’t really mind, would she? She had been touching him so much the past days, taking his hand at every chance she had… Flirting with him… Yes, she had been flirting with him, even if he had denied it to himself.  
He slowly moved his hand into his pants, grabbing a hold of himself, careful not to stroke too quickly as he did not want to get this over and done with in a few seconds. After all, if ever he got to do this with Belle, it would not be a good sign of self-restraint if he came straight away. He would need to show her that he could last - that he could bring her to pleasure too - and so he gulped heavily as he slowly moved his hand over his member, his breath already hitching.   
He could remember seeing her white underpants the day they had practiced dueling. He had used the Levicorpus spell on her, and if he had not been able to distract his mind as quick as he had, he would have stood there with a boner in front of her while he had helped her to her feet again.   
What would she have done then? Or what would she do now, if that were to happen? What would happen if he asked her for help relieving himself? Would she slip her hand down his pants? The thought of her soft hand wrapped around his member almost caused him to come, but he stopped stroking himself for a second, before he let his thoughts continue. Perhaps thinking about her pleasing him wasn’t the best if he wanted to postpone coming, perhaps it was better to think about pleasing her instead.   
He imagined himself back in the Transfiguration classroom which they had once used for practicing dueling, helping Belle out of those white underpants while he was kneeling in front of her. She’d gasp and moan softly as he’d leave kisses on the inside of her legs, working his way to her most intimate area.   
Rumplestiltskin knew a bit more about pleasing a woman than most boys his age. He had read some magazines which some of the younger boys in the orphanage had bought and kept hidden in their bedrooms. While they had only been interested in the pictures, Rumplestiltskin had been equally interested in the texts and tips the magazine had to offer, and he could not help but feel that Belle would not mind it that he had read those things.   
He’d help her sit on top of one of the desks, her legs spread wide because she’d want him to bring her to her much-wanted release. It was like he could almost hear her moans as he imagined licking her, and he softly moaned as well.   
She’d compliment him - thank him - and beg him for more - beg him to enter her - and she’d be ready for him, her walls clenching around him as he brought her to her release.   
He’d be next - his movements not as quick as to drive him to his own release, but slow enough for Belle to recover, and they’d kiss - properly, this time - and he’d let his hands slip under her blouse to massage her breasts. She’d cry out his name as she came a second time, and Rumplestiltskin would tell her she was beautiful and worthy of all the pleasure in the world. She’d ask him to come, and he would…  
Feeling a little bothered by the sheets and his pants, and not wanting to leave too much of a mess, Rumplestiltskin pulled them down, speeding up his movements as he imagined her in bed with him, sitting on top of him, completely naked.   
He whispered her name over and over again, imagining what it would look like if she would take the lead.   
His thoughts were becoming more erratic as he felt the point of no return arrive. All he saw in front of him was Belle, just as hot and bothered as he was, begging him for release. He wasn’t even sure anymore if she was asking for hers or his, but he let out a long moan as his seeds spilled out of him.  
It took a long while for reality to set back in, as he lay there and thought of his beautiful Belle. After he cleaned up the mess with a wave of his wand, he covered himself up again, sighing contentedly. He hoped that his dreams would become a reality one day, and the way things were looking right now between the two of them… it was starting to feel like they would. 


End file.
